The Right Rev. John M. Burgess
1909-2003

The Rt. Rev. John Melville Burgess, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and the first African-American diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church U.S.A., died on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2003, in Vineyard Haven. He was 94.

Bishop Burgess stood among the last of the Episcopal Church's great progressive bishops of the 20th century. He was known for his witness for inclusion of racial minorities in church and society and carried out a lifelong ministry of seeking out the welfare of the urban poor, always working to draw his church outside itself. "I just wanted to prove that the Episcopal Church could be relevant to the lives of the poor," he said in a 1992 interview.

John Melville Burgess was born in Grand Rapids MI, on March 11, 1909, the son of Theodore Thomas and Ethel (Beverly) Burgess. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan in 1930 and 1931 and graduated from Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge MA in 1934. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1935.

He began his ordained ministry at his home parish, St. Phillip's Church in Grand Rapids, and was then given charge of the mission church of St. Simon of Cyrene in a community outside of Cincinnati that he described as "the poorest of the poor." From St. Simon's he administered a social services center, medical clinic and day school in an effort to make the church a place that ministered to the whole person.

In August 1945, he married Esther J. Taylor in Fredericton, New Brunswick. An activist in her own right, Mrs. Burgess was arrested and put in jail in 1964 when she refused to leave the Ponce De Leon Motel in St. Augustine, Florida., after being told that she would have to eat in the restaurant kitchen.

Bishop Burgess served as the first denominational chaplain at Howard University in Washington DC from 1946-1956, a ministry notable for its outreach to students from Africa and the Caribbean.

Named a canon at Washington National Cathedral, where he served from 1951 to 1956, Bishop Burgess used the national pulpit to heighten the social conscience of the Episcopal Church during a period in which the Supreme Court was moving to overturn the separate but equal doctrine that opened the way for the modern civil rights movement.

Bishop Burgess began his ministry in Massachusetts as archdeacon of Boston's missions and parishes and superintendent of the Boston City Mission. He restructured the organization according to his vision that it should be a catalyst for change rather than a social services provider, and renamed it Episcopal City Mission, as it is still known, so that it might enable work in urban centers outside of Boston.

Believing that ministry is best carried out at the parish level, he worked to develop an urban mission strategy that would engage city churches in the lives of the poor. He was not daunted by resistance from clergy whose urban congregations were dwindling but who were nonetheless more comfortable with the status quo than seeking out the welfare of racial and ethnic minorities. He advocated the church's support of mission in the city. "I think that any church in a poor urban area which says that they can go it alone has not developed a big enough program. Their program ought to always be bigger than their resources," he said.

In September 1962, John Burgess was elected bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Massachusetts on the first ballot. He was consecrated on Dec. 8, 1962, at Trinity Church in Boston. He was honored by Time magazine in January 1964 with other African-Americans who had "broken barriers, earned positions of trust and become part of the leadership community in the U.S."

On June 7, 1969, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts elected him bishop coadjutor, to succeed the Rt. Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes, Jr., as the diocese's 12th bishop, making Bishop Burgess the first African-American in the Episcopal Church to head a diocese. He was installed in January 1970, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. "I hope that we will not lose sight of the fact that our true and essential mission is to the world and not to ourselves," he said in his first address as a diocesan bishop.

Upon Bishop Burgess's retirement in 1975, the Joint Urban Fund that he had initiated at Episcopal City Mission was renamed the John Melville Burgess Urban Fund in his honor. The fund, which makes grants available to community groups addressing causes of poverty, is considered a ground-breaker in grant making to community organizers.

Bishop Burgess never lost hold of his vision for what the church could be. "We are realizing more and more that we are one world," he said. "and that we cannot exist apart from the welfare of all mankind. We've always had a theory of the so-called Kingdom being made of all kinds of people, but now we are confronted with the reality of it."

Bishop Burgess was active in the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. He served the Episcopal Church on numerous national commissions and boards. A strong supporter of the Union of Black Episcopalians, Bishop Burgess was honored over the years with a dozen honorary degrees.

After his retirement he taught at Yale's Berkeley Divinity School in New Haven CT, serving for a time as its interim dean, and was the board chairman at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, NC. He was a mentor to countless young clergy of all races who were committed to social justice causes and urban ministry. He was an assisting bishop in the dioceses of Washington, Connecticut, North Carolina and Curacao. His writings include Black Gospel/White Church, published by Seabury Press in 1982.

The Burgesses moved from Connecticut to Martha's Vineyard in 1989 and were members of Grace Church in Vineyard Haven where Bishop Burgess was honored on the occasion of his 90th birthday with the dedication of a new stained glass window bearing his likeness. He is survived by his wife, Esther and two daughters, Julia Burgess and Margaret B. Harrison

by Tracy J. Sukraw, Editor of Episcopal Times, Diocese of Massachusetts

Sonia Francis
1942-2003

Dr. Sonia Francis, whose career at the Episcopal Church Center spanned 37 years and the terms of four presiding bishops, died of heart failure at her home in New York on Oct. 16. She was 61.

She retired from her position as the presiding bishop's executive director of program in March after a leave of absence, during which time she was hospitalized and treated for multiple myeloma.

During a visit to Minneapolis for this summerπs General Convention she was honored by her colleagues in Episcopal Communicators, the national association for church-based communications that she helped establish in 1971.

Her lengthy career at the church center began in 1966. After serving as a radio and television specialist, she was appointed executive of the communications office at the Church Center in 1983 and was instrumental in planning and launching Episcopal Life, in 1989. In 1995 she was appointed director of program.

She remained involved in religious communication within the denomination, the Anglican Communion and wider ecumenical circles. She specialized in documentary film and the emerging video technology.

With the National Council of Churches she served on various key committees, including broadcasting operations, and held positions with the World Association for Christian Communication, the National Acad emy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Religious Public Relations Council.

In 2000 Francis received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Episcopal Divinity School in Massachusetts "for distinguished witness and service in church and society." The biography added, "Yours was a family where multiculturalism was normative." Francis was born in Honduras to Jamaicans with links to Cuba and Bengal. After graduating from an Englishspeaking boarding school in San Antonio, Texas, Francis served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) from 196065. She was also a professional performing artist in voice, drama and dance.

"This diverse background has given you a unique ability to understand people from many different cultural backgrounds, and has helped you serve as a bridge-builder between persons and organizations in the church," the biography said.

Former colleague Kris Lee, now on the staff of the Anglican Communion Office, said that "Sonia was among the very first denominational communication executives in the early 80's to produce network radio and TV spot campaigns for evangelism and for social justice causes.

She was also a striking media performer and I remember well that evening when she received a standing ovation for her singing tribute to Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning at his final General Convention. At the Episcopal Church Center, Sonia championed the need for collegial partnerships with other departments by creating an extremely successful inter-unit group for planning and evaluating communication projects."

Several former colleagues also pointed out the significance of her career in the life of others. Bishop Arthur Williams, interim director of ethnic ministries, said that she has been "an effective and persistent presence on the national church scene--and we will miss her warm and welcoming ways.Over these years she has served as a wonderful role model for black women, in the church and in society."

At her retirement, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold said in a note to staff and the Executive Council that "Sonia has been a valued friend and colleague to me and a true servant of the Gospel."

A memorial service was held at the Episcopal Church Center onThursday, October 30, 2003.

The Rt. Rev. Robert L. DeWitt
1916-2003

The Rt. Rev. Robert Lionne DeWitt, bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, 1964-1974, died November 21 in Saratoga Springs, NY. A requiem Eucharist was celebrated at the Philadelphia Cathedral on November 29. The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr. was the celebrant; the Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris preached.

At age 48, DeWitt was the youngest bishop the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania ever elected. A quiet and low-key New Englander, he surprised many with his relentless battle for women's rights, racial equality and anti-Vietnam War stance. At Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia in 1974, he was one of several bishops who first ordained 11 women as priests.

As Andrew Wallace wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine: [DeWitt] delighted in getting the church, himself and his pastors involved....[He] endorsed the activities of those acting out of conscience rather than rules; he believed that ministering to the poor, the oppressed, the young and black is more important than trying to preserve the comfort of those already in the pews."

After the women were ordained, the Episco pal Church grappled with whether the ordinations were valid, finally deciding they were "valid but irregular" at the church's 1976 national convention.

At the 1999 celebration commemorating the event, DeWitt said: "It is ironic that what happened 25 years ago here at the Advocate was for a time seen more as an issue of three misbehaving bishops than as a breakthrough created by 11 pioneering women. Make no mistake, the event was a creative action of, by and for women. The bishops were only accessories."

When he assumed office as bishop, race riots were erupting in Chester, Pennsylvania. He supported the efforts of racial justice there, even taking a midnight ride to Harrisburg to ask then-Governor Scranton to intervene. A year later, he became a significant force in supporting those attempting to break the will of Girard College's founder, a document that excluded blacks from attending the school. He also encouraged the Rev. Paul Washington, rector of the mostly black, inner-city Church of the Advocate, to become involved in racial justice issues.

When the Black Economic Development Conference (BEDC) presented its Black Manifesto in 1969, demanding $500 million in reparations from churches throughout the country for black economic development, DeWitt urged parishes and clergy "to engage in a creative dialogue" with BEDC leaders. As a result, the diocese's 1969 annual convention created a Task Force for Reconciliation, and its 1970 special convention approved creating a Restitution Fund and a diocesan-wide education program. By 1976, the diocese had given $525,865 in black community development grants and educational grants to 400 black students.

Opposed to the Vietnam War, DeWitt brought onto his staff as urban missioner, the Rev. David Gracie, who was known to counsel young men about the draft and the option of draft resistance. According to Richard Schneider of the Diocese of Pennsylvania's History Committee, conservatives argued that churches "should preach the gospel and leave politics to the politicians," and disaffected Episcopalians formed such groups as the Voice of the Catacombs and the Episcopal Renaissance.

Looking for ways to bring the church and soci ety closer together, DeWitt resigned as bishop in 1974 to become editor of The Witness magazine and president of the Episcopal Church Publishing company. He retired from those positions in 1981 and moved to Isle au Haut, Maine, an island in the outermost reaches of Penobscot Bay. He then wrote Ebb Tide about dealing with his wife's Alzheimer's condition and Turning Pages, a series of short essays, songs and poems.

He was awarded honorary degrees from Episcopal Divinity School, Haverford College, LaSalle University, Lincoln University, Philadelphia Divinity School, Temple University and Virginia Theological Seminary, He was awarded the Peace Award from the SANE organization in 1974 and the City of Philadelphia Human Rights award in 1973.

He was bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Michigan and rector and curate of churches in Michigan prior to coming to Pennsylvania.

He is survived by Barbara, his wife of 65 years and their five children--Rebecca, Laurence, Kathrina, John and Robert--as well as 14 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

Contributions may be sent to the Bishop Rob ert L. DeWitt Memorial Scholarship Fund at The Episcopal Divinity School, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.